Caught in the Sun: Playing Hurt
by TachyonOne
Summary: Ranma and company are at the World Cup, and things on the field don't go exactly as planned. Part of a special fanfic series.


For more information about this fanfic series, go to http://www.infinitedeferral.com/ or for other fanfics in this series, go to my profile at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=79367 .  
  
Caught in the Sun  
  
A 2002 World Cup / Anime Fanfic Series  
  
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)  
  
Episode One: Playing Hurt  
  
Group E: Germany v Saudi Arabia @ Sapporo  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic  
  
"We are having a dandy of a time at the Sapporo Dome, where three points are at stake on this second night of group play at the 2002 World Cup. The not-so-fancied Saudi Arabian side having their way with perennial contender Germany, and as we approach the beginning of the second half, the green shirts enjoy a one-nil advantage."  
  
"There is a story developing, though, over reports and otherwise speculation that the Germans, prior to taking the pitch tonight, are suffering from a very slight case of food poisioning. Much like in the debacle in the NBA playoffs back home, officials are checking into the shipments that were funneled into the Dome and at the team's hotel for the past few days. Germany had one last practice on the field to get a sense of the environment, and the 23-man squad had a final meal catered to them at the Dome before the official ceremonies earlier tonight. As a result of what may be bad food, they have been sluggish against Saudi Arabia, especially in midfield, where the backline has had to come in to assist, paying the price off a foolish offsides trap and falling behind by a goal."  
  
"Two years of preparation for this night, where the Germans thought to pick up some easy points off the Saudis. One can only imagine how it has come to this."  
  
---  
  
"--And put those in the locker room, they'll sort it all out later," the foreman said.  
  
The staff did what they were told, ferrying around all sorts of supplies, all of them for the upcoming game. One man stopped what he was doing, and eyed a peculiar item atop a stack of boxes.  
  
"What're you doing?" the second man asked.  
  
"Someone must've left this here," he replied.  
  
"Are you kidding? That's the team's catering, don't fool around with that!"  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah, and so what? Just put it the locker room with all the other stuff."  
  
He walked away, leaving the first man to still wonder about something so out of place. No matter, he thought, as he did what he was asked to do, hoisting the entire stack on top of a cart and taking it where it needed to go.  
  
---  
  
"Hey!" Akane cried, "Which one of you was holding our food?"  
  
Ranma and Ryoga looked at each other under a pretense of innocence.  
  
"Do you have it?"  
  
"Me? Uh, no, I thought you were holding it."  
  
"What do I look like, a bagman?"  
  
Akane scoffed at the two of them, and walked away, saying, "Ugh, you men! And to think I spent hours making it for our trip here!"  
  
Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, having successfully ditched the goods. He then looked over one shoulder with a blank stare at his surroundings.  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Nothing," Ranma said, "Just wondering when Pops ran off to. Must've went with Nabiki."  
  
"Isn't she trying to place a couple of bets?"  
  
---  
  
"When this is all over, I'm going to kill you," Nabiki said, deadpan.  
  
"What?" Ranma asked as he settled back down into his seat, "What did I do?"  
  
"I was gonna make some major profit off Germany. You know where that food went."  
  
"Whatever, they'll shake it off."  
  
"They'd better. I've got a ton of money on the line here."  
  
Of course, Nabiki wasn't going to lay a finger on Ranma, but as he watched the second half begin, he grew some concerns in the back of his mind that she just might try something troublesome to save her lousy bet. In the meantime, he looked around and still had not seen his father since long before kickoff.  
  
"Fifty-first minute now, and the Saudis continue to lay down the pressure as the Germans continue to struggle on both ends of the pitch. Saudi Arabia has outshot Germany eight to four as--alright, this is a serious shot again. The green shirts in midfield feeding their lead striker with the ball, he's beaten the first two defenders! He takes a shot from fifteen yards--oh, my word! A giant panda made the huge save for Germany!"  
  
The crowd erupted in jubilation as the ball landed in Genma's hands. The forwards stood in disbelief as the panda worked the huge crowd that filled the stadium.  
  
Nabiki and Ranma were the only ones in their seats. One was rather pleased; the other had the wide-eyed expression of bewilderment.  
  
"Well," the fairweather fan in Nabiki said, "You don't see that everyday."  
  
"That's a great stop, came all the way from twenty yards off the sideline, had no business at all being in the box. What I wonder is how he was able to plant his feet and get in position so quickly to put an end to the Saudi offense."  
  
"Couple hundred pounds of solid defense covered in black and white fur saves the day for Germany, on the brink of upset, still behind one-nil, but you gotta think that the Germans have the momentum to rally around that miracle of a play for their defense."  
  
---  
  
Ryoga heard the cheers from the stands above him as he wandered about aimlessly in the bowels of the Dome. Had he been able to make sense of the markings of the passageways leading to the stands, he might not have wound up lost inside the stadium.  
  
At last, though, he found a door. Not out to the seats, but to a restroom. He decided to take advantage of it while it was right in front of him, and as a pair of children darted out of it, laughing mischievously, he made his way inside to find some relief.  
  
The hallway of that particular section of the Dome was uneventful, save for the fans going to and from their seats for various concessions. The children, of course, were long gone, having plugged up the sinks with the purpose of flooding the restroom. Nonetheless, they had a good laugh, as they heard from afar the sound of water gushing from the restroom and into the hallway.  
  
---  
  
The longball sailed into midfield while the second half began to wind down to a close. Those in the grey shirts ran a furious pace to work the ball into the net, but were stopped by a very persistent defense.  
  
After the initial goal, Ranma watched the game with only partial interest. "Looks like you're going to lose the bet," he said.  
  
"Better not," Nabiki replied emotionessly, "That's our grocery money for the next two weeks.'  
  
Ranma looked up, "What?"  
  
"Well, they were supposed to win!"  
  
"Then they'd better score something, shouldn't they?" he said with sarcasm.  
  
"Hey, I didn't poison the entire team with Akane's food!"  
  
"What!?" Akane cried.  
  
Ranma and Nabiki looked behind them. Akane was long ignored throughout the half, and they had forgotten that she was even there.  
  
"Oh, you're in big trouble, chief," Nabiki whispered.  
  
"Ranma," Akane said, nicely at first, "Did you ditch our lunch?"  
  
"Well, I--you see--it's, uh--"  
  
It was then that tempers flared. "I don't believe you! I oughta kill you!"  
  
He saw the look in her eyes and knew that he was suddenly in a tight spot. He laughed it off, though, same as always, and darted from his seat, towards the pitch.  
  
"Hey!" Akane cried before chasing after him, "Come back here!"  
  
Inexplicably, the chase took to the field, as both Ranma and Akane navigated around the players and officials. Several midfielders were tripped up as the pursuit continued, as the remaining players looked on in curiosity. After a long time of being chased about the field, Ranma found himself in the penalty area, looking around for his pursuer.  
  
"Over here!" she said, with the ball firmly resting underneath her foot. With one quick motion, Akane took her foot back and kicked the ball into the box, leaving Ranma with no time to react. He stood absolutely frozen in time until the ball struck him like a bullet. To everyone's amazement, he held onto the ball with both hands as he was thrown past the goalkeeper and into the net.  
  
"Shot and a goal! And it's a one-one game!"  
  
A standing ovation awaited Akane as, section by section, the stadium crowds stood up to celebrate this latest goal. The team that stood in her debt hoisted Akane, much to her surprise, up on their shoulders and carried her about the field. A dazed Ranma, on the other hand, took a moment before sitting up from his rather flat position in the goal. His first sight was the keeper, who shook his head in disappointment over his inadequate defense.  
  
---  
  
In all the excitement of the game being even again, P-chan went largely unnoticed by everyone on the sidelines, as they remained too focused on the ball movements on the field in the closing minutes of the half. The diminutive creature squealed as he moved about, as directionless as ever. His movements flirted with the sideline, where his troubles began as the midfielder stepped out of the line to take the throw-in. Startled, P-chan instinctively ran onto the field, where most of the frantic action took place.  
  
"Can't explain it, folks, but I think a couple of the players are having trouble ascertaining where the ball is."  
  
"That sounds about right. I see something on the pitch, and it's rolling around quite freely much like the ball that's in play. Hey, I think they're mistaking it for the ball! Look, one of the forwards kicked it around, thinking he was on onsides!"  
  
"How can you mistake that? The match ball is gold, and that - whatever it is - is dark!"  
  
P-chan was quite the distraction, as he was volleyed about the midfield between both sides. He was not thrown about with too much force, thankfully, but just enough to draw enough defenders away from the real ball.  
  
"Look at this, look at this! Germany has the ball forward, with only the keeper to beat!"  
  
The roar of the crowds snapped the players out of their distraction, and in a manner of seconds, in the brief moments it took to mistake P-chan for the match ball, the strikers made what the best of their last chance in the penalty area.  
  
"Goal, and the Germans have done it! From down one goal to up one in just minutes! What a letdown for their opponents!"  
  
P-chan looked up, not quite sure what to make of anything happening around him. All he could see, as he scrambled to get off the field and out of danger, was the celebration of players in grey jerseys all over the pitch. P-chan took one last look, and collapsed softly onto the grass.  
  
---  
  
"And what a night for soccer, for those of you keeping track at home. The Germans were playing hurt for much of the match, and even fell behind early on. But a miraculous turn of events reversed the fortunes of everyone on the field, and the Germans take three points in a critical Group E match, winning 2-1 over Saudi Arabia. Bookies all around the world have to feel relieved that Germany took this match back with a venegeance."  
  
"I still don't know how that panda was able to stop that ball so quickly..."  
  
"Are you still fixated on the panda?"  
  
---  
  
"Wasn't that a fun game?" Akane asked as they left the Dome.  
  
Nabiki laughed, patting her rather thick pocketbook. "Absolutely," she said, "How about you guys?"  
  
Ranma walked behind them, still sore from the incident. "Uh, yeah," he said, grimacing. He finally looked over his shoulder at Ryoga, showing a couple of bruises himself. "What happened to you?"  
  
He held his swollen jaw, as if to hold it in place, saying, "Shut up."  
  
END.  
  
Next match:  
  
Episode Two: Argentina v Sweden @ Saitama  
  
A Mermaid Saga Fanfic 


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